England v New Zealand LIVE: Result and reaction from Cricket World Cup 2023 opener as Kiwis win by nine wickets
England take on New Zealand in the Cricket World Cup opener at the 132,000-seater Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad
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Your support makes all the difference.England’s World Cup defence began with a punishing nine-wicket defeat in Ahmedabad as New Zealand helped themselves to a slice of revenge four years in the making.
Organisers scheduled a repeat of the 2019 final to kick off this year’s tournament, but rather than a nail-biter to match the tension of that Lord’s classic, they had to settle for a thoroughly one-sided affair.
England needed a super over and a boundary countback to get their hands on the trophy last time around, but two majestic hundreds from Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra meant the Black Caps romped home in the rerun with almost 14 overs to spare.
Conway finished 152 not out while his Wellington team-mate Ravindra reeled off an unbeaten 123 - more than double his previous ODI best.
The absence of Ben Stokes with a hip injury robbed the reigning champions of some middle-order firepower but their score of 282 for nine was nowhere near enough to constrain an outstanding Kiwi chase.
Follow the latest news and updates from England vs New Zealand below and get the latest match odds and tips here.
Wicket! Moeen Ali out for 11! England 118-4
A change in the attack with Glenn Phillips coming on to bowl, and he starts with a dot straight at the stumps.
And the second ball he has a wicket! Ali goes for a big swing and misses the slower ball which goes straight onto the stumps.
England 118-3 (21), Ali 11, Root 32, Ravindra 1-25(3)
Ravindra, who got the wicket of Harry Brook is back on to bowl, he has been slightly expensive so far, and he was during the pre-tournament series in England as well.
Ali and Root just knocking the ball around for singles and looking comfortable, six singles from the over.
England 112-3 (20), Root 29, Moeen 8, Neesham 0-19 (3)
Moeen Ali looks to have settled quickly and eases the ball away for one but Joe Root drives the ball away to the square point boundary for another single.
For New Zealand, Jimmy Neesham has a bit of work to do through these middle overs. His job is to keep England as quiet as possible and maybe pick up a wicket or two to keep the pressure on.
This is a good over with just three runs to come from it.
England 109-3 (19), Root 28, Moeen 7, Ravindra 1-19 (2)
Joe Root will continue on his merry way accummulating runs and going for the odd expansive stroke. He’s the glue that ties England’s batting order together and should lead them to a decent total if he’s still in at the backend of the innings.
Root and Moeen work Ravindra’s next over for three singles before Moeen misses out on a full toss and pokes it down the ground for one more.
England 105-3 (18), Root 26, Moeen 5, Neesham 0-17 (2)
Moeen Ali is England’s new batter coming in ahead of captain Jos Buttler. He gets off the mark immediately with a dab into square leg for one.
With Root back on strike Neesham targets the legside and sees the ball flicked wide of wicketkeeper Tom Latham for four more runs. That shot also brings up England’s 100.
Another single for Root brings Moeen back on strike and he spanks the last delivery through midwicket for four as well!
Wicket! Harry Brook ct. Devon Conway b. Rachin Ravindra 25 (16), England 94-3 (17)
One big shot too many!
Perhaps the feeling of smashing boundaries got to Harry Brook as he looks for the legside once again. This time he miscues the ball straight into the air and Devon Conway makes no mistakes in plucking the ball out of the air.
England lose their third wicket.
England 94-2 (16.5), Root 20, Brook 25, Ravindra 0-15 (0.5)
New Zealand replace one left-arm spinner with another as Rachin Ravindra comes into the attack. He’s a more orthodox spinner who bowls at a slower pace to Santner.
Joe Root takes one and leaves Harry Brook to go on the attack which he does. Twice Ravindra drags the ball down and twice Brook pulls him away to the gap at deep midwicket. Back-to-back fours!
That’s even bigger! There’s no fielders out a deep midwicket so Brook goes up-and-over launching the ball into the stands for six...
Drinks: England 79-2 (16), Root 19, Brook 11, Neesham 0-6 (1)
It’s probably honours even for the first period of play as the players stop to take a drink. New Zealand have dismissed both openers with Joe Root and Harry Brook starting a rebuild.
The pitch looks good though and if they can create a platform it should suit the more aggressive batters like Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone still to come.
England 79-2 (16), Root 19, Brook 11, Neesham 0-6 (1)
Jimmy Neesham comes into the attack for New Zealand and is met by a spanking shot from Harry Brook who dispatches him to the boundary for another four runs!
Brook then gets off strike and leaves the bulk of the over to Joe Root who just takes another single.
England 69-2 (14), Root 16, Brook 4, Boult 0-33 (5)
Joe Root takes one off the first ball from Trent Boult’s next over bringing Harry Brook on strike. He latches onto a slightly shorter ball and pulls Boult to the boundary for his first four!
Three dot balls follow as Brook attempts to muller the ball through the offside but his early on each shot and just skews the ball into the turf.
Five from the over.
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